WSP Group
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| WSP Group plc | |
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| Type | Public limited company |
| Founded | Early '70s |
| Headquarters | London United KingdomOffices in 35 countries |
| Key people | Chris Cole, CEO Malcolm Paul, Finance Director |
| Industry | Construction management, engineering consulting |
| Revenue | GB£ 577 million (2007) |
| Employees | 9,500 |
| Website | www.wspgroup.com |
WSP Group is a UK-based global company that provides management and consultancy services to the built and natural environment. It was founded in 1970s and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1987 and has since grown to employ over 9,500 staff world-wide. It operates as a specialist in the property, environmental, transportation and infrastructure sectors.[1]
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[edit] History
WSP was established in the 70s as M&E Public Health Engineers in Surrey, UK. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1987 and has since expanded globally through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.[2]
In the early 90s, WSP began to expand its service capacity. In 1994 it acquired AB Consulting plc (trading as Kensington Ford) to strengthen its structural and civil engineering capacity and increased staff numbers to 500. The following year, it launched an environmental business called WSP Environmental and also formed WSP Asia. In 1997 WSP acquired the Graham Consulting Group to further expand its services in transport and infrastructure, and consequently raised staff numbers to nearly 1,500. By 1999, consolidation in South Africa meant that staff numbers had reached 2,000 and turnover had reached £100m.
Entry into the US market came via the acquisitions of Flack + Kurtz and the Cantor Seinuk Group in 2000. The following year WSP acquired Jacobson & Widmark (J&W) in Sweden, bringing staff numbers to 4,600, revenue to £250m and making the Group one of Europe’s largest consultancies (European CEO, Interview with Chris Cole, August 2006). WSP further increased its Scandinavian presence with the acquisition of three Finnish companies in 2003, and two years later reinforced its presence in the Middle East with two more acquisitions.
By 2006 staff number had growth over 7,000. It was another big year for acquisitions, expanding WSP’s global presence with three purchases in Australia, Ark Consulting Pty Ltd (Ark), Responsive Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd (RES) and ESH Connect Australasia Pty Ltd (RegConnect), LC Consulting in Dubai and also Environmental Strategies Consulting, LLC (ESC) is the US and Estonian Talone OÜ.
WSP celebrated its 20th year as a publically listed company in 2007, with nearly 8000 staff in 30 countries and revenue of over £450m.[3]
Throughout the year it continued its expansion[4] , acquiring Australian building services and environment engineering consultancy, Lincolne Scott, South African firm LC Consulting, a specialist in structural engineering, UK-based CEL International[5] , and CBP Consulting Engineers in Germany. It furthered its presence in the US with two acquisitions, SEi, an engineering design business[6] and transport and infrastructure engineers SELLS.
Today WSP has around 9500 staff in 35 countries, projects operating in over 60 countries and a 2007 revenue of £577m and operates as a specialist in the property, environmental and infrastructure sectors. Chris Cole remains the Chief Executive and Malcolm Paul the Financial Director.
[edit] Recent acquisitions
2007 Lincolne Scott – Australia LC Consulting – South Africa Worthington-Smith & Brouwer (GTG) (PTY) Limited - South Africa Chas. H. Sells, Inc. – USA CBP Consulting Engineers AG – Germany SEi Design Engineers - USA CEL International Ltd - UK
2006 Ark Consulting Pty Ltd (Ark), Responsive Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd (RES) and ESH Connect Australasia Pty Ltd (RegConnect) - Australia LC Consulting - Dubai Environmental Strategies Consulting, LLC (ESC) - USA Talone OÜ – Estonia
2005 PHB Group – United Arabs Emirates
2004 Consulting KORTES OY – Finland
2001 Jacobson & Widmark – Sweden / LT Consultants OY and EMP Projects OY - Finland
2000 Cantor Seinuk Group / Flack + Kurtz Consulting Engineers - USA
[edit] Notable projects
Notable projects in progress
- Freedom Tower, WSP Cantor Seinuk has been appointed as structural engineer for the tower, to be built at the World Trade Centre site in downtown Manhattan. The tower will also provide a world-class model of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability and world leading levels of safety and security.[7] [8] [9]
- London Bridge Tower also known as Shard of Glass is a supertall skyscraper planned for construction in London. WSP Cantor Seinuk is providing structural engineering services.[10]
- Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. WSP is developing strategies for many aspects of the design to support the zero carbon, zero waste ambition of the project.[11]
The City Line in Sweden, a 6km rail tunnel under Stockholm. WSP will project manage the track, water and waste water installations for the entire length of the tunnel and also undertake rock investigation, geotechnical and construction work for the northern half of the project.
- City of Arabia in Dubai.
- Lumiere (skyscraper) is a development under construction in Leeds, England.
Notable completed projects
- Beetham Tower, Manchester, the tallest building in Britain outside London.
- Hungerford Bridge crosses the river Thames in London.
- Hearst Tower (New York City), the city's first Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building.
- Birmingham Bullring in Birmingham, UK.
- Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.
- Council House 2 in Melbourne, Australia.
30 The Bond in Sydney, Australia. Binh Bridge, Vietnam, opened in May 2005.
- Southern Cross Station, in Melbourne Australia.
Royal Bank of Scotland Headquarters in Edinburgh, UK.
Royal Shakespeare Company’s Courtyard Theatre in London, UK.
Farnborough Business Park, UK.
The Biogas-to-Energy project at the PetroSA refinery in Mossel Bay, South Africa.
Gotha Tunnel in Gotenberg, Sweden.
[edit] Awards
Sustainable Building Services Awards 2007 - WSP and its company Lincolne Scott won the Major sustainable building/development of the year, the Sustainable building / development of the year and the Sustainability champion of the year.[12]
2007 CTBUH Awards - WSP won the best sustainable tall building and the best tall building award.[13]
2007 Acquisitions Monthly Awards - WSP Environmetal won the Environmental Advisor of the Year award.[14]
Greater Helsinki Vision 2050: International Ideas Competition - WSP Finland won this competition aimed at defining a vision for the development of the Helsinki metropolitan area up to 2050.[15]
[edit] Key people
Christopher Cole C Eng - Chief Executive Officer
Chris was appointed as Managing Director of the newly-formed plc Board in 1987 when the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Following initial training and education, Chris spent the first ten years of his career working for a major contracting and subsequently consultancy business. He joined WSP Group at its inception in the 1970s, becoming Managing Director of WSP’s newly formed plc Board in 1987 when the group was listed on the London Stock Exchange. He was appointed as Chief Executive in 2001.
He chairs the Performance and Strategy Committees and is responsible for both operational control and the strategic direction of the Group.
He is also Non-Executive Chairman of Ashtead Group plc.[16]
Malcolm Paul - Group Finance Director
Malcolm Paul is a chartered accountant who has worked in both industry and private practice.
He specializes in corporate finance and, in particular, mergers and acquisitions in the engineering sector, both as an advisor and principal.
He was one of the two founders of WSP Group plc, a leading global business providing management and design consultancy services to the built and natural environment. He is now the Group Finance Director for WSP Group plc.
WSP is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and has been built both organically and through acquisition from a base of 50 people and $5m sales in 1987, to an international business that now has 9,400 staff and sales approaching £1.5bn.
[edit] References
- ^ European CEO, interview with Chris Cole. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Building Magazine, The Long Haul. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ WSP acquisition sweep in the US and Germany (registration required). Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Building Magazine, The Age of Expansion. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ WSP Group buys CEL. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ WSP Group pays £11m to expand presence in America. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Freedom Tower Overview. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Structures/Freedom Tower. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ World Trade Center/Freedom Tower. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Shard / London Bridge. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ The Masdar Initiative. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Sustainable Building Services Awards 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
- ^ Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 2007 Awards. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
- ^ Acquisitions Monthly 2007 Awards. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
- ^ Greater Helsinki Vision 2050. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ CEO magazine profile. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
